Blurs

Deep in the folklore of West Cornwall lies a particularly sinister tale attached to a place that, today, is barely recognisable as anything extraordinary. At Higher Bodinar, near Newbridge between Penzance and St Just, an ancient underground structure known as a fogou was once feared as the dwelling place of a group of grotesque supernatural beings: the spriggans. These were not the playful piskies of Cornish folklore. The spriggans were something considerably darker — ugly, spiteful creatures believed to guard ancient treasures hidden beneath the earth. And at Higher Bodinar, tradition placed them directly beneath the feet of the living. The Giant’s Holt The underground structure at Higher Bodinar was traditionally known as the Giant’s Holt. It was one of Cornwall's fogous — mysterious subterranean chambers generally associated with Iron Age settlements. Fogous remain difficult to interpret with certainty. Suggestions for their purpose have included storage, refuge and ritual acti...